Need an SDHC card? Need one in 4GB or 8GB?

Need one that’s waterproof? Unless you work for Magnum, my guess is “no,” but the option’s there, thanks to Elecom, if you want it.

She’s out later this month, but the Japanese firm hasn’t revealed an asking price. Considering you can buy an 8GB SDHC card on Amazon for a little more than $20, Elecom’s new deal should be right around there.

via Akihabara News

Sandisk announced a 16GB micro SDHG card back in September and is now followed by Toshiba, whose model (SD-ME016GA) will be released in Japan in January next year [JP]. According to Asahi Shimbun [JP], one of Japan’s biggest newspapers, it will cost around $200 (Toshiba itself speaks of open prices).

Toshiba also announced two SDHC cards. The SD-C16GT6 holds 16GB and will cost $200 when it hits Japanese stores in April next year. An 8GB model (SD-C08GT6) will be available in Japan for around $100 next month.

Toshiba hasn’t said yet if or when the cards will be available outside Japan.

Everyone’s favorite wireless memory card is now available with four gigabytes of storage. The Eye-Fi Anniversary Edition has just been announced to commemorate one year of wireless photo slinging from the Mountain View, California-based company.

The card is selling with an MSRP of $129.99 but Costco members can get it for $99 on Costco.com – not too bad for a 4GB SDHC card with a built-in wireless chip that automatically transfers photos to your computer and 25+ online photo sharing services. You can also add automatic geotagging and/or Wayport wireless hotspot access for $14.99 per year, per service.

There’s really no need to get whimsical with this post. Kingston has announced a 32GB SDHC for you HD recording folk or anyone that really needs 32 gigs worth of room on an SD card. You’ll have to shell out about $308 for it, though.

* Compliant: with the SD Card Association specification version 2.00
* Secure: built-in write-protect switch prevents accidental data loss
* Compatible: with SDHC host devices; not compatible with standard SD-enabled devices/readers
* File Format: FAT 32
* Reliable: lifetime warranty**
* Simple: as easy as plug-and-play
* Capacities***: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
* Dimensions: 0.94″ x 1.25″ x 0.08″ (24mm x 32 mm x 2.1mm)
* Speed Class 4: 4MB/sec. guaranteed minimum data transfer rate
* Operating Temperature: -13° F to 185° F (-25° C to 85° C)
* Storage Temperature: -40° F to 185° F (-40° C to 85° C)
* Voltage: 3.3V

These SD cards just get bigger and fatter all the time — and by bigger and fatter, I mean internally. After all, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

This one from Panasonic, available in April, is a 32-gigabyte card. Granted, it’s $700 but it does work rather speedily with a 20mb/sec transfer speed.

There’s a SanDisk 32-gigabyte card that’ll also be out in April. At $350, it’ll be half the price of this Panasonic card but it runs a tad slower at 15mb/sec. That might not sound like a big deal but it very well could be for the kinds of people who have $350 to $700 to drop on an SD card.

Other 32-gigabyte cards should be available soon from various other manufacturers in various other formats, which should help to drop prices over the coming months.

Panasonic offers big and fast SD card–for $700 [CNET]

SanDisk is cutting the cord with the forthcoming Ultra II SDHC cards, with capacities up to 8GB. The card folds in half, turning it into a USB drive, so you don’t have to tote a card reader around with you at all times. Neat!

They hit the shelves later this month for less than $100 for 8GB, and $80 for 4GB.

Don’t get me wrong here. Having more capacity is always a plus, but 16GB of space?! I can barely fill up my 8GB SDHC and Kingston comes out with a 16GB Class 4 SDHC memory card. What does Class 4 mean? Well, the minimum data transfer rate on this is 4MB/s. Not too shabby. That’s about all you really need to know, too. It retails for $231.

I didn’t fully understand the strain that’s put on SD cards when they’re being used in a digital camera. I purchased a 2GB SD months ago and I was happy with it and still am, but I can never use it again in my DLSR. It simply cannot process the data fast enough and regurgitate it when I need it. I’m an impatient person and I like things to be done FAST. Of course, it’s not completely fair of me to berate it since it’s a lowly SD card and not meant to handle a DLSR, but that’s what I’m doing, so, tough.

Product Page

If, for some reason or another, you need more storage and high performance for your DSLR, then by all means, take a gander at SanDisk’s 8GB Extreme II SDHC card. It’s secure, it has a huge amount of storage, can transfer data at a whopping 20MB/sec and cook you some eggs sunnyside-up.

Oh, you thought you were going to get an 8GB SDHC card for cheap, didn’t you? You make me laugh. Really. Be prepared to shell out $179.99 for this bitch as I watch your eyeballs and mind explode from sticker shock.

SanDisk Intros 8GB Extreme III SDHC Card [Digital Trends]

Companies that feature “prosumer” products usually have a good rep. and their products are usually worth the extra cash. However, memory cards I just can’t see becoming “ultra extreme pro” or anything like that. But going against the grain, SanDisk and Lexar have announced multiple high-end memory cards. Lexar will offer a 4GB CF card and 2 and 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo cards as part of it’s Platinum II line of cards.

SanDisk is doing the same crap with it’s Extreme III line of cards. Expect to see a 4GB SDHC card, a MicroMate card reader, and a 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. Prices for all these cards range from $55 up to $180. Lexar’s offerings will be available by April while SanDisk’s are set to drop by May.

SanDisk, Lexar announce high-end memory cards [Electronista]

8GB (60X) Class 2 SDHC Secure Digital Media Card [product site]

SanDisk has unveiled it 4GB miniSD High Capacity (SDHC) flash card. Before you get too excited, I should note that these things aren’t supported by any devices yet.

These SDHC cards comply to the new SDA 2.0 standard that will eventually allow miniSD to contain up to 32GB. Amazing really. That much capacity on something so small. They should be widely available next year, but for now you can just sit and salivate.

SanDisk Introduces a 4GB MiniSDHC Flash Card for phones [Mobility Site]

It looks like 8GB SD cards will be hitting the market soon. Pretec claims it has developed the first of these cards. The card supports SD 2.0 and is not backward compatible. Users can currently order one card for sampling purposes. The company has also created a 16GB flash drive which is claims is the biggest of its kind, but that is clearly false since drives exist well beyond 16GB. At any rate, Pretec says the drives will be ready for mass production early next year.

I’m sure this thing is going to be expensive. A better alternative might be to stick with a smaller card and simply use a portable hard drive based photo viewer. That way you can get about 80GB and about the same price.

Pretec Introduces 8GB SDHC Card [Geekzone via Engadget]